Pothole season has returned

MASON CITY, Iowa – Some try and dodge them and others just try and take it slow, but pothole season is back and these bumps in the road are getting worse and harder to avoid.

Mark Fitzgerald, a Mason City resident, says he’s in the car pretty much every day for work and like many other drivers, he can pinpoint intersections and cross streets that have some of the worst road craters.

“I kind of remember the spots and, depending on traffic of course, I go out of my way to avoid a lot of these holes,” Fitzgerald said.

Pete Hjelmstad, a field services coordinator for the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) says their crews are doing everything they can to fix the holes make sure driving conditions are safe.

“We try to make things a little bit better and hopefully by the end of the week, we will be using what’s called a Dura-patch machine and that will give us a little bit more of a permanent fix.”

Drivers like Fitzgerald know that the temporary fixes are just that, temporary; however he believes that a little warm weather is worth the headache.

“You can’t get upset with the city,” Fitzgerald said, “they can’t fix it right now, we just have to grin and bear it until the weather gets nicer because what’s the point of throwing asphalt or something over freezing water, it’ll be frozen and pop up again.”

When the roads do pop, avoiding the troubled areas will help keep your car out of trouble.

As things warm up the potholes will become harder and harder to dodge and not avoiding them could lead to an expensive trip to your mechanic.

Justin Cooper is the service adviser with Graham Tire Company in Mason City.

He says they have already started seeing some pothole culprits and says they’re only expecting things to get worse.

Being mindful of other drivers is always a must and Cooper says that avoiding potholes at all costs is the best way to keep your car and your wallet safe this spring.